Believe
by BlackPack's Quileute Challenge
Summary: When the wolves are in trouble, a former legend comes to life. All Bella can do is sit and wait but sometimes you can see more than you believe from the sidelines, based on the Quileute legend about the Thunderbird.


**Title: Believe**

**Characters: Paul, Bella, wolf pack and Kim**

**Pairing(s): Paul and Bella**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to S.M. No copyright intended.**

**Summary: When the wolves are in trouble, a former legend comes to life. All Bella can do is sit and wait but sometimes you can see more than you believe from the sidelines, based on the Quileute legend about the Thunderbird.**

"The answer is completely simple, just don't go!" My words left my month with desperation as I watched my husband stand at the doorway looking helpless and broken. I knew he had to go, so did he, but I held onto that tiny chance that maybe, somehow, I could get him to stay here with me.

"Bella, you know I have to go!" His voice was pleading with me to not argue and allow his departure. We both hated when he had to leave and we were still in the middle of an argument. It was painful and agonizing to be away from him at all, but for him to be gone and mad at me was like death.

I stared into his eyes and saw the pain he was feeling. It was selfish of me to not realize just how much distress I caused him just by begging for him to stay. It was hard for me, but I knew it was hard for him too. He was after all, the one out there fighting, knowing that I didn't want him to be. I breathed out the air that I was holding.

"I'm sorry, Paul" I reached forward and rested my head against his chest. "I love you and want you to be safe, that's all." I mumbled. His arms rose up and wrapped tightly around my waist. The safety that existed in his arms was so inviting that I had to pull him even closer to me. I never wanted to let go. It was these very moments that I treasure and will never take advantage of, I know one day I may not be able to experience them again.

"Bella, everything will be fine, it always is." Paul kissed the top of head and pulled out of my arms. "I will be home before you know it" His lips pulled into a smile and he placed a hand on my check. "I love you with all my heart Bella, never forget that." With that he placed his lips gently against mine and pulled away quickly before the kiss could escalate into anything further. "I'll be back soon." He turned and walked out of the front door, the one that only a moment before he had been hesitant about going through.

I slumped down on the bottom step of the stairs, facing the door. My eyes focused on it willing it to open yet again. It didn't, not that I expected it to. He was gone and no doubt would come home in the dead of the night after much fighting and attacks from the blood thirsty vampires. "MUM" The voice of my seven year old son, Alex, entered the silence of the house. I shook my head and rose to my feet. Alex was always a child that refused to go to sleep at bedtime; it had been an hour since my last attempt at settling him. I thought he had decided to sleep, but obviously not. I drug my body up the stairs but not before I gave the door one last longing eye.

"What's a matter?" I whispered to him as I walked through his doorway. Lily, my six month old baby, was asleep comfortably in the other room and I don't think I could deal with another screaming fit from her. I perched on the side of my son's bed and looked down at him. The covers were shoved to the bottom of the bed and he was sat up straight.

"I heard you and dad shouting" He sniffled out. It broke my heart into two at the way my son's expression was twisted in to panic at the concept of his parents arguing.

"Dad didn't agree with me that Superman is better than Spiderman" I gasped out in disgust.

His little brown eyes grew wide. "Superman is way better mum. I'm going to have words with Dad" He shook his head from side to side. I laughed and ruffled his clump of black hair.

"Well, Dad's gone to fight the bad vampires so he'll be back when you wake up in the morning. Okay sweetie, time for bed" I smiled at him. His face broke out into a huge grin when I spoke of the vampires. He knew all about the wolves and legends, we found it easier that way if he knew, just like Lily will be brought up knowing. Alex, unlike me, thought that his Dad and Uncle's fighting vampire's was the coolest thing in the world. In my eyes, it was just a death wish.

"Can you read me a bed time story?" My son giggled happily. I smiled weakly down at him; it was a smile that would fool any child.

"Okay, what story?" I already knew which one he was going to chose.

"Thunderbird!" He wiggled his arms around above his head in an imitated off a bird. I laughed faintly at his carefree behaviour, how I wish I was that age again.

"Okay, but you have to promise you will go back to sleep after" I held out my pinkie and he gladly connected his own. "I promise mum" He smiled at me with a toothless grin.

"Okay then, lie back" I pushed his shoulders backwards and covered him over with the blankets. He snuggled into the sheets and waited for me to speak with his eyes opened wide. I could see that he was tired as his lids kept drooping to a shut, but he would quickly snap them open in order to hear the story that he had heard thousands of times before.

"Many years ago, in a time that is not noted down in history, the Quileute people were starving, so starving in fact many people had died. The Chief knew he had to do something but all his hunting techniques had ended in vain. Eventually, in no time at all so many of the Chief's people had passed away and he was losing hope at ever finding a way of helping his people. So one night, he prayed to the Great Spirit for assistance and help at the time his people were dying."

"He didn't have to wait long. Within day's his people were visited by an enormous avian. It was said that it was large enough to carry a whale in its claws, so that very day it dropped a whale on the land of the Quileute. It feed them all and saved them from starvation.

"From then on the Quileute's people held nothing but respect and regarded him as the Thunderbird." My son finished the story for me. I smiled at him and nodded. "I've been thinking mum, if the legends of the wolves and vampires are true, then why is the Thunderbird not?"

"I don't know sweetie." I smiled down at him. "Now, I believe you promised to go to sleep" I whispered to him with my eyebrows slightly raised. He sighed and closed his eyes tightly shut. I kissed his check and whispered a tender "Goodnight" before I turned the light off and left the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

In a matter of minutes I was slumped on to the couch with my feet tucked underneath me. I looked up at the time, 10:30. I let out a sigh and lent my head backwards with my eyes sliding shut. I refused to go to bed before Paul returned; it was the same every time he left to hunt the vampires that had approached our land. I would not relax until he came back, so what was the point in even trying to do anything.

I let my mind travel to the story in which I had just told my son. The Thunderbird was indeed a legend, no body anywhere had seen the Thunderbird or anything like it for that matter, but most people in La Push had never seen the wolves either, therefore they didn't believe in them. So is it possible that something exists if not a single been has seen it?

The wolf legends were simple; our ancestors had descended from wolves and exist to protect our land from vampires. Simple. People in La Push have different thoughts are the Thunderbird legend, however. Alex for one believes in the Thunderbird and sees it has a superhero story. Some believe that the Thunderbird is an evil sprint and that causes chaos on the land if we upset it. Others don't believe in it at all, I am one of those people. The legend wasn't true and neither was the stories, but I humor my son's interest in the Thunderbird. I never believed in the wolves at first until I saw one; I believe in something from experience, not from make believe stories.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

My house phone was laid on the table in front of me, where Paul had placed it after Sam had called in regarding the vampires that were closing in. I leaned forward and picked it up. A smile formed on my lips when I saw Kim's name flashing on the screen.

"Hi Kim" I spoke into the phone.

"Hi Bella, just ringing to see if Paul had been pulled away for the fight as well?" Her voice was clearly worn out. That's to be expected from a woman who had given birth to twins only a few weeks ago.

"Yes, he did" I sighed, "I take it Jared did as well?" Jared had been Paul's best friend since we were all just five years old, before any of the boys phased and the mythical creatures took over our lives. I had been though everything with the boys, even when they phased they couldn't keep it from me. Paul blurted out the wolf secret as soon as he saw me after the absence from school. That's what imprinting does to you, was Paul excuse to a very bad tempered Sam at the time. Shortly after Paul had imprinted on me, Jared imprinted on Kim, who at the time was the girl that kept to herself at school. Now she's my best friend.

"Yeah" She muttered. "He didn't really say much about it all though."

"All I know is that a vampire scent was picked up by Jacob on his patrol so he alerted the others and called for back-up." I leaned back on the coach getting comfy once again.

"God, so how's the kids?"

"There fine, they're both as bad as each other when it comes around to bedtime though" I sighed but them quickly laughed. "How's do you like been a mummy?"

She giggled. "It's very tiring, but I love it." She spoke with such pride, it made me smile. "Emily's having a party next week for Kayla's 10th birthday, you going?"

I nodded but then realized that she couldn't see me. "Yes, Alex can't wait bless him. I heard she's hiring out a bouncy castle, is she mad!" Kim laughed at my remark, I quickly added. "The men are going to be on it all the time, poor kids wouldn't even have a chance!"

We both laughed for a few minutes and for that length of time I had forgotten about my worries of Paul, but they quickly reappeared when Kim started to speak again.

"Anyway, I'm going to bed." She yawned. "Let's hope our men will be back soon. Bye."

"Yeah bye." We both put the phone down. I frowned yet again when I saw the time, 11:00. The idea of sleep was very inviting, but I was determined to make sure that I was aware of when Paul returned home. He hadn't been gone long so I would no doubt be waiting hours.

I huffed and rose to my feet, stretching my arms above my head. Time for some coffee, I thought as I walked in the direction of the kitchen. I stretched out my muscles yet again; the feeling of them relaxing was a relief. My eyes wondered towards the sink where the dishes were still piled sky high. I sighed, I had forgotten completely about them earlier. My need for a coffee will have to wait.

I lazily picked up the dishes and placed them on the side, giving me better access to the taps. My hand twisted the tap so the warm water started to run and fill up the sink. I watched it for a second before my eyes started to droop shut. I rubbed them and looked blankly ahead of me. My eyes fell on my beautiful back garden which was full of gorgeous flowers and green grass; the darkness however shut them out. I was in the process of nodding my head back door to the sink when something caught my eye on the garden ground. As I focused upon it, I started to wonder how I had managed to miss it in the first place.

It was huge, bigger than anything that I had seen before. It was most defiantly a bird, that much was clear, due to its black beak and brown feathers. I had never before seen a bird this big however. I never even knew that a bird this size existed.

The huge bird gazed at me and met my eyes. I tried not to gasp as his face left its confused expression and replaced it with content. Without his beady eyes leaving my own, his neck craned forward in a nodding gesture. That moment seemed to last forever, before he spread out its wings and pushed from the ground with his large claws. I tried to watch as it flew gracefully through the gloomy sky but my teary eyes blurred up my vision, making it impossible to keep them focused. I wiped them from my eyes on my sweater sleeve in a quick attempt to catch another look at the bird, but the sky was clear and nothing was in sight. I don't know where the tears had come from, but it seemed like when the bird's eyes met mine, I knew everything was going to be fine and that I had nothing to worry about. My body seemed to be flooded with relief. That relief had caused the tears to flood out.

"Bella?" I was suddenly awakened from my gaze by a deep, recognizable voice behind me. I quickly turned off the still running tap; the water was threatening to flood over the sink edge.

"Sam?" I turned around and my eyes fell on Sam and Jared who were both stood in the doorway. "Where's Paul?" My nerves increased when I couldn't see him behind them.

"Don't worry Bella, he's in the other room." Jared smiled at me. I nodded and went to try and pass both of the huge men stood in the doorway.

Jared stopped me by placing his hands on my shoulders and focusing me to look at him. "We come across some problems." Jared's voice was full of seriousness; it was something that was rarely seen in him. My heart sped up fast and I felt my lungs tighten. The fear inside of me was overwhelming. The only thought that entered my head at all was if my husband was dead. That's what I, along with millions of other people, always assume when the word problem is mentions, the worst possible thing must have happened.

"I have already told you he is fine" Jared chuckled, but it seemed slightly forced. I waited for him to speak again. "The vampires tripled within minutes of the fight, we were losing and they just kept appearing out of nowhere. Paul was hurt." He stated matter-of-factually. I felt my muscles tighten at the sudden news. I knew I should be expecting this one day, but I was hoping that the day would never ever come. "But he's fine." Jared repeated.

If he was fine why were they stopping me from seeing him? I struggled to push against Jared arms to get past, I knew it was a useless attempt before I even started, but it was better than not trying at all. "We thought everything was over and that we were going to lose. Jacob and Embry protected Paul as he tried to recover from his injuries and it was as if all was lost." It wasn't lost though, I told myself, they all were here.

"Bella, you will not believe what happened" Jared's eyes twinkled with something that I couldn't seem to understand, amazement? I broke my gaze from Jared to look at Sam who was watching Jared and I, his eyes held the same look. "Bella we were all saved!" I gave him a blank expression. "A huge bird swept done and fought with us, it was huge! It was the Thunderbird, it helped us!" I knew I was stood with my month wide open in shock but I couldn't control myself. I tore my arms out of Jared's grip and looked out of the window in which I was looking moment ago. I knew the bird had flown away but I wanted to see it again.

"Bella?" Sam asked. I turned to face him with a smile.

"I'm fine, how is Paul?" I asked trying to get my mind of the huge bird.

"He has an injured leg but it should heal its self if he rests it for a day or so" Sam replied and moved out of the way of the exit. I smiled and practically ran out of the kitchen and straight into the living room in which I could hear many voices. My eyes fell on Paul who was laid on the couch with his leg resting. I saw the blood that was covering his leg but it seemed to have dried and no cut was in sight. I gave him a small smile, in which he returned.

"Did Jared and Sam tell you Bella?" Embry spoke in a carefree manner. He was always the one in which to find the bright side of everything. "The Thunderbird is real! Can I go and tell Alex, he will be amazed!" He rose to his feet.

"You are not waking him up Embry, sit back down!" I laughed at his eagerness. "It can wait until tomorrow" I smiled at him. He slumped back down in the chair he was sat in. Jacob smacked him on the shoulder and winked at me.

I laughed and walked over to Paul's side. "Are you OK?" I frowned.

"I'm fine" He lent up and kissed my lips.

"Yeah , thanks to us" Embry butted in with pride.

"No Embry, thanks to that huge bird!" Quil extended his arms in order to show me just how big it was.

"I can't believe that legend is real and we saw it!" Sam exclaimed from the doorway. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. I looked around at them all, I thought of that moment my eyes fell on the bird, and decided against telling the guys about it.

"I think you're going crazy." I smiled at them all and just before they were going to argue with me, I rose to my feet and clapped my hands together. "I think it's time you all went home and to your families" They all agreed and said there goodbyes quickly before leaving the house in complete silence.

"It's true Bella, the Thunderbird was there." Paul tried to persuade me as I perched on the side of the couch yet again.

"I know" I smirked at him. "Just before you returned, it was in the garden. You and the guys must have done something to deserve the help of that bird."

"I know. We are very lucky."

"Yes, you are because if you had died, I would have killed you" He chuckled at my seriousness as I spoke. I raised my eyebrows. "I'm not kidding"

He burst into laughter. "How did I end up imprinting on such an amazing woman?" He shook his head and bought his hand up to brush his fingers against my check.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but you're stuck with me." I bent down and kissed his lips, this time we didn't pull away because we knew we had forever.


End file.
